By Ruslan Chikov
In late February, promoter Don King threw down a bid of $1.5 million to secure the promotional rights to the trilogy between Marco Huck (35-2-1, 25 KOs) and Ola Afolabi (19-2-4, 9 KOs). He bid well above Sauerland Event ($914,444), who promote Huck, and K2 Promotions (375,000), who have Afolabi.
Promoter Kalle Sauerland has expressed its concern over this matter, because King has yet to finalize a date, venue and the most important factor - a television deal. If King is unable to stage the fight, then Sauerland as the second-highest bidders will secure the promotional rights.
Because King bid so much money to gain the trilogy rights, Sauerland says the veteran promoter has made it impossible for himself to make a profit - because he will require an even higher sum from a television network - which is not possible given the current German market.
"It's getting a little crazy. We have discussed the possibility of an appeal of this fight due to [King's inability to reach an] agreement with the television channel. So within a week, King will have to send a proper contract or the case is closed. For us, and especially for Marco, the proposed one and a half million dollars is a great deal. The clock is ticking, however, and the King often wins bids and the fights do not occur - as was the case with Stiverne and Arreola. He offered a crazy amount at the purse bid [for Stiverne-Arreola], but then ultimately nothing happened. Unfortunately, it seems that in this case the story is the same, but we hope that the third battle between them will take place in the end," Sauerland told Figo Sport.
